Building your Personal Brand through Strengths

Personal branding is such a buzz word phrase at the moment and with good reason. People are more interested in the value a person – or a company – brings to the table and less interested in the product itself. In this era of consistent contact – albeit dominated by social media – having an effective message around your unique brand can be a game changer.

And honestly, not just in your professional life, but in your personal one as well.

We brand people all the time with labels. Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.com has said, “Your brand is what people are saying about you when you’re not in the room.”

What kind of an impression are you leaving? What are people saying about you?

When you combine the power of knowing your talents (using the Clifton StrengthsFinder tool) with the knowledge to apply it in a manner that communicates your persona effectively, you’re beginning to control how others see you. Your talents are your filters as well, so it’s as much how you see the world as how others see you. When you have a deep understanding of your talents, communication and interpersonal relationships improve, happiness and well-being* go up and stress goes down. *(Gallup Well-Being Index) And as a result, your idea of labels begins to shift.

Let’s think about labels and talents for a moment.

Command. According to Gallup, people talented in Command “have presence. They can take control of a situation and make decisions.” They can also be labeled as bossy, powerful, bitchy, intimidating or strong.

Empathy. “People exceptionally talented in the Empathy theme can sense other people’s feelings by imagining themselves in others’ lives or situations.” They can be labeled as kind, thoughtful, sensitive, emotional, weak or soft.

This is just a fraction of a sample, but hopefully, you get the idea. When you own your talents, develop them into strengths and can articulate your “brand” to others, you create a consistent picture for all those with whom you come in contact. Your values, your motivations begin to form your vision and your mission. It can guide you and inspire you. It can remind you in tough times what you’re made of. It can get you the next job or the next investment on your start-up project. I might even get you noticed by “the one,” you never know. Let’s talk today and discover how to best communicate your unique value.